Dan in Real Life

Review time again: Dan in Real Life – this 2007 movie is star Steve Carell as Dan. Dan’s wife died a while back and he is raising three girls alone. The story takes place over a weekend at his parent’s place during a family gathering. Dan meets a lady, but than an obstacle gets in their way. That leads to various funny, sad, and ackward moments. I enjoyed the story as to how they got Dan into certain situations, but it did get overly sappy at times.

The real reason to see this movie is for Carell’s performance. He is showing his range here. Dan is nothing like his characters in 40 Year Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, or The Office. In the span of a couple of years he has had four very good performances, while playing four very different characters.

The movie as a whole isn’t anything special. It’s basically a romantic comedy mixed with a family comedy. However, Carell is so good that he is able to take moments that would just be annoying or cliche in the hands of someone with less comedic talent and make them absolutely hilarious. For fans of Steve Carell, it’s a must see.

Rating: 7/10 (replace Carell with almost anyone else and it’s probably a 5/10)

Michael Clayton (movie review)

Review time: Michael Clayton- this 2007 movie was written and directed by Tony Gilroy, who also wrote the Bourne movies. Its about a lawfirm that is defending a chemical company in a large lawsuit. The firm’s lead lawyer starts acting crazy, so the firm’s fixer, Michael Clayton, played by George Clooney, is brought in to help with the situation. Tom Wilkinson, of Batman Begins and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fame, and Sydney Pollack play the other major roles to round out the more than solid acting.

As a forewarning the beginning is slightly confusing as to what is going on and how it pertains to the story, but within 20 minutes everything makes sense, and by the end everything is wrapped up nicely. There are some well done plot twists and turns, and I really enjoyed the logical ending.

 I especially enjoyed the cold, smooth way in which this movie was shot with the bluish tones. It makes you feel like you are part of the story but removes you emotionally from the story. That blended very well with the fact that to do Michael Clayton’s job you would have to remove yourself emotionally and be cold and calculating with your decisions.

Simply put, its a very good movie. I would highly recommend it, although it is two hours long and paced very slowly so definately bring your attention span.

Rating: 7.5/10

No Country for Old Men

Review time: No Country for Old Men – the new Coen brothers film that just hit theatres recently. Its their first major release since Ladykillers in 2004. First of all, as a Coen brothers film, it is visually amazing. They might capture landscapes better than any other directors currently going. If you have the Coen brothers and a story that involves wide open spaces, you are half way to a very very good movie (see: Fargo).

The acting is insanely good. Josh Brolin, of Goonies and Grindhouse Planet Terror fame, is your protagonist, and in classic Coen brother’s fashion his character’s name is Llewelyn Moss. To try and keep the spoilers to a minimum, Llewelyn discovers some money in the desert, and Anton Ghigurh is after him. Javier Bardem plays Anton Ghigurh in one of the breakout performances of the year, as he plays one of the coolest villians of recent years. I didn’t remember him in anything before this movie, and IMDB confirmed that with the only thing I had seen on his filmography being Collateral with him playing a role I don’t remember from the movie. He was nominated for an Oscar for some movie titled Before Night Falls, but No Country is the movie that will introduce his talents to a mass audience. The film also features a very good performances from Tommy Lee Jones, as a small town sheriff, and Kelly MacDonald as Llewelyn’s wife. As well as amazing bit parts from Woody Harrelson and Stephen Root, who is one of the more underappreciated character actors out there and played Milton in Office Space if his name doesn’t ring a bell.

This movie features the signature Coen brothers uniqueness from their earlier works (Raising Arizona, Fargo, Big Labowski), and is probably the best film they have done since Fargo, if not their best work so far. I loved it. The only complaints I have heard from anyone where about the ending, which doesn’t really show you everything that happens so I can see what might confuse some people, but it does imply everything that went on and I understood everything that happened. This is easily one of the best movies of the year. It transitioned from drama to comedy to suspense to action seemlessly. If you liked any of the previous Coen brothers work, go see this movie, right now.

Rating: 9/10